John Cornelius "Moose" Smith

John C. "Moose" Smith, 62, died suddenly Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014, at his home in Missoula. He was born Aug. 23, 1952, in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, to William Charles and Florence Jordan Smith.

When John was a teenager, he joined his father at the hunting camp in Pennsylvania. When he walked in and due to his large size, the men exclaimed, "Who's that moose?" and he proudly was known by that nickname ever since. He was always proud to be from the Pittsburgh area and thus an ever-faithful Steelers fan.

He was a Boy Scout and achieved Eagle Scout. He graduated from Greensburg Salem Senior High School in 1970. He attended Central Michigan University for a short time. His dad put him on a train to Montana with all of his belongings in a big trunk to attend the University of Montana. He earned a Bachelor of Science in forestry in 1975 and later a Bachelor of Science in wildlife management in 1983.

Moose was married to Donnalyn Sapuski in August 1975 in Dearborn, Michigan. One son, William J. "Willie" Smith, was born May 30, 1983. He lost contact with his son, but never stopped trying to reconnect and was always so proud of his only son. Moose worked many places around Missoula and loved meeting and making new friends. He started driving bus for Mountain Line in 1978 and had recently returned to his roots, rejoining Mountain Line about a year ago.

Moose was a deep thinker and loved music, reading, writing short stories and getting out in nature. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping, canoeing, golfing and enjoying life. He will be missed by many friends and family members. Big heart, gentle soul, funny man!

He is survived by his son, Will of Niles, Michigan; older brother, Dave (Kitty) of Orange County, California; several close cousins, nieces and many, many friends.

A potluck celebration of life party will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15, at the Desperado, 3101 Russell St., across from the YMCA in Missoula.
Read John Smith's Obituary and Guestbook on www.missoulafuneralhomes.com.